By Jason Van Horn

In terms of single-player games, Torchlight has been blowing up big since its launch, as fans and critics alike love the dungeon crawling and loot whoring that takes them back to the glory days of their gaming. The developers aren't just stopping there, however, as they're currently at work on bringing to the market a free-to-play MMO set in the Torchlight universe. We sat down with Travis Baldree (President/Project Lead), John Dunbar (Zombie Pyrotechnician), Jason Beck (Art Lead), and Adam Perin (Technical Artist) to find out what we could about the upcoming MMO.

MPOGD: The single-player version of Torchlight has proven to be a big hit with both fans and critics alike. When it comes to what's being said about the game, what are the positives and negatives you're analyzing and saying, "Okay, this has to be addressed with the MMO." Either in terms of fixing or enhancing.

Travis Baldree: Well we get a lot of feedback about class balance and skill advancement and those are primarily things that most people seem to bicker over a lot. Also, separate mechanics like item enchantment, gambling, and item combination recipes are also something that people are generally very opinionated about, so we've been gathering lots of information on those things.

MPOGD: For those who bought the single-player Torchlight, are there any plans whatsoever to allow single-player characters to transition into the MMO, or any plans to reward those who bought the game when the MMO comes out?

Travis Baldree:  There definitely won't be any character transfers. There essentially separate games and those classes might not even exist in the MMO. We don't have any real finalized plans for any single-player to MMO carryover or bonus as of yet. We're more likely to do something for those folks who are in our beta, which will obviously run in advance of the MMO.



MPOGD: How different is Torchlight the MMO going to be from Torchlight the single-player game? Torchlight right now is a semi-top down dungeon crawler. When the Torchlight MMO releases, is it going to have a look and gameplay feel more akin to traditional MMOs like World of Warcraft, or are you keeping the same gameplay and look of the game, but adding in MMO components?

Travis Baldree:  We're planning to stick with an isometric perspective. We tried hybrid perspectives back with Mythos, but quickly decided we didn't like them for this style of gameplay. We're planning to stick with isometric. The intent is for the game to play as much like the single-player as much as possible as far as moment-to-moment action and overall pace of play, except with other people and large, shared spaces.

MPOGD: What's the time frame you're looking at for the MMO's release window?

Travis Baldree:  About two years to release, although obviously we'll be doing private alpha, private beta, and public beta before then.

MPOGD: If the single-player Torchlight game had multiplayer, every player model in a certain class would look the same. The only way to really define your character is by the weapons and armor drops one gathers. What are you looking at in terms of character creation?

Travis Baldree: The characters will definitely be customizable in the MMO. We're working on finalizing what wardrobe options we're going to have, but you'll definitely be able to select faces and hair and hair color and details and so on and so forth. There will be significantly more customization in the MMO.

Adam Perin:  And capes…possibly.

MPOGD: The game currently features three classes: Destroyer, Alchemist, and Vanquisher. Will these same three classes be used in the MMO?

Travis Baldree:  Not necessarily. Initially we were planning on having them be separate. They'll probably appear in the game, but not necessarily as a playable class. It's not finalized yet, but we don't want people to play the game and already feel as if they played these classes.

John Dunbar:  The character classes also don't necessarily transition into group.

Travis Baldree:  If they do appear they'll probably be substantially different.



MPOGD: Will there be any other classes to choose from, either by choosing them right from the beginning or by advancing your character. Can you reveal anything you're looking at for those extra characters?

Travis Baldree:  Nothing we can announce yet. We're really just getting into the pre-production on the MMO now.

John Dunbar:  We can tell you though that all our classes will probably be combat based. It's not the sort of game where you have to group with a tank, a healer, and a DPS. Everyone will be kind of able to stand on their own.

Jason Beck:  I think a big thing is trying to design these classes so they function in a group party structure, but people being actively involved in combat instead of sitting back and selecting characters to heal and things like that. I think a lot of the support stuff will come from actually playing the game instead of managing UI.

MPOGD: One of the things everyone loves is your pet, which not only fights with you, but who can go to town to sell items you don't need and then come back. In the MMO, will players still have access to their pets in much the same way, and if so will they can any other functionality? Also, are there any plans for pets outside of the cat and dog?

Travis Baldree:  I think you'll definitely have pets in the MMO – I think it's one of the distinguishing features we need to keep. Their final abilities aren't really finalized. I think we'll probably definitely do more than just the cat and dog and we would like to enhance their functionality. I still want them to be able to take shopping lists.

MPOGD: Torchlight's crafting system boils down to enchanting items and breaking items down to create new items. Will the Torchlight MMO contain crafting and if so, how alike or different will it be to the one in the single-player game? What can you reveal about the crafting system?

Travis Baldree:  We're committed to doing a crafting system. It will not be just item recipe combination likes the transmuter in town in the single-player. We liked some of the ways things were heading with the Mythos crafting system, which was a tree-based crafting system, so we're initially planning to attempt something like that, but there's a lot that can change between now and release.

MPOGD: Are you planning on the Torchlight MMO having PVP components or will players be strictly getting in groups to tackle the quests and dungeons? If there will be PVP, how will it work?

Travis Baldree:  Absolutely PVP. Nothing that's really finalized at this point; it's too soon to be super detailed about what the final PVP setup will be.

Jason Beck:  We are interested in doing some type of territory control beyond just dueling and things like that.

Travis Baldree:  Yeah, it won't be just dueling.



MPOGD: Most MMOs have environments that have fixed reference points – when you go into it everything is always in the same place and positioned for the same attacks. Will the MMO feature randomly generated areas?

Travis Baldree:  We're planning on doing both. We both have fixed overworld areas as well as some fixed dungeons, as well as the ability to go into instanced randomized dungeons. We're planning on doing a mix.

MPOGD: What are you looking at in terms of competitive PVE?

Travis Baldree:  We'd definitely be really interested.

John Dunbar:   It's something I'd really like to do. I think you could have a lot of fun and open up the competitive environment up for people who aren't super into PVP through doing PVE like competitions to see who can clear the dungeons the fastest or get through a monster obstacle course or that kind of thing.

MPOGD: Do you have a level cap in mind right now and what it might be?

Travis Baldree:  Not specifically yet. It's really going to depend on the final content amount at launch. So no…not yet.

MPOGD: While there is a story in Torchlight, the main focus of the single-player game is of course the dungeon crawling and loot whoring. Will the MMO be more storyline and quest driven?

Jason Beck:  I think the story will always take a backseat to the action. We definitely want to spend a little more time in sort of presenting the history and lore of the story to the periphery of everything else. I think it's safe to say there will be a little more story than the single-player, but the action and gameplay will still be the number one thing.

Travis Baldree:  I think it will be a lot more about the breadth of the story at that point. We'll be filling in the story a lot more. There will be a lot more detail that we'll be filling in – I think that's a good way to put it. So it's really going to be more about the background lore that we scribble in.

MPOGD: Some free-to-play MMOs have a bad reputation of saving all the good stuff back for only those who purchase it. I've seen complaints in games where if you don't buy a certain item from the cash store, you won't be productive in things such as the PVP. What kinds of items are going to be offered in the item mall when the game releases? Are players going to feel as if they "have" to spend money in order to triumph in the game?

Travis Baldree:  Our goal is for that not to be the case. I think in general people should be able to earn everything in the game legitimately. Primarily we'd rather be selling things that make you want to play instead of send you ahead of everyone else. Certain kinds of mounts we'll sell. I think one of the things we did in Mythos that's a good example of the things we'd like to do is we sold maps and maps basically led to a personalized dungeon for you and your party. One of the things we were going to do was cartography, where you can alter the properties of the map: make it wealthier, more champions, increase it's depth. It would be something that one person could purchase and everyone else could go with them and everyone could enjoy it and it was more about playing the game instead of skipping the game.



MPOGD: The forums are pretty split between those who can't wait for the MMO and those who say, "They should just add multiplayer and stop at that." Why do you think so many people seem opposed to the idea of a MMO?

Travis Baldree:  I don't think there's that many people who are opposed to the idea. I think it's more about people who like co-op buddy play.

Adam Perin:  I think it's also people who have in mind the MMOs that are out now that are a lot slower paced and play a lot different than an online co-op game. What we have in mind is something that has the same pacing of the single-player and you can just play it with your buddies if you want, so I think they'll like the MMO more than they think they will.

Jason Beck:  And I think to some degree we've drawn a few Diablo fans into our group and they like what they're used to. They've been sort of conditioned into the co-op multiplayer type of thing and that's what they want – it's probably what got them to look at our game in the first place.

MPOGD: What can you tell them/if anything to help ease their mind? What should they know about the team and their approach to the MMO to help quiet their concerns?

Travis Baldree:  We're not interested in making a traditional MMO. We're not interested in a slower, turn-based, dice-rolling sort of game. We really want this sort of gameplay and this pace of gameplay that you can play in a more persistent world online with your friends. We also have a big focus on allowing the game to be soloable. We want it to be fast paced and something that hasn't been played in an MMO.

MPOGD: You had mentioned the Diablo similarities as a reason why many players discovered Torchlight in the first place. Diablo III is on the horizon. Is there any concern about fans being split between the two?

Travis Baldree:  Our hope is that we're really making a different kind of game. Diablo is going to be a Battlenet style of game and we're really headed in a different type of direction and we'll be free-to-play. So I don't think one keeps you from playing the other and my hope is they'll provide different enough experiences where people will still be interested in trying ours out.

Adam Perin:  A lot like with Mythos, we really want our game to be something you can jump into for a short amount of time if you want to – do something for 20-minutes if you want to have fun.

John Dunbar:  And I think in general there's room for two action RPGs. I don't know too many people who play one FPS over and over again, and we're certainly doing things differently and I think there's room to enjoy each.

Jason Beck:  A lot of people are playing Borderlands and Torchlight right now.

Link: http://www.torchlightgame.com/